Aftermath
by AnotherFacelessAuthor
Summary: Very similar to my story "In My Point of View". People's reactions and thoughts to different thigs that happen throughout the series, mostly centered around Percy/Annabeth in Tartarus. That being said...HoH SPOILERS!
1. The Change In Him

**Hey guys! I'm baaaaaaaack!**

**So how bout that House of Hades,huh? :D I thought it was AMAZING and decided to join the fanfic frenzy that always ensues after a new book release.**

**Speaking of such...**

_**THIS STORY CONTAINS HOH SPOILERS! DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU READ THE ACTUAL BOOK I AM SERIOUS!**_

**Get that? Are all you non-HoH readers gone? Just us now?**

**Good.**

**Personal rant: idk why people are so pissed there is NOT a clifhanger. Personally, I like not having my heart ripped out and stomped on like it was with MoA. What I did find weird was the...ah...****_revalation_**** about Nico.**

**Do. Not. Misunderstand. I am FInE with there being a gay character, all for it! I have a close friend who's gay! I just thought it came from nowhere and to say I was shocked would be an understatement.**

**But Jason, how he was cool with it, eaned my permanant respect. I just also found it funny that Annabeth thought he had a crush on HER, when really he had a crush on her boyfriend. :) **

**And sorry Thalico shippers, thats really going nowhere now. Thalia is an immortal maiden and nico is gay. Good luck.**

**Anyhoo, feel free to PM me personal rants, I'll reply if able!**

**This one-shot was inspred by the changes we see in Percy in Tartarus, which I personally loved. We've never really seen the dark side of Percy so i found it ultra cool. Its in Annabeths point of view!**

**Read A/N at bottom! I have a Q for y'all!**

Annabeth had never before been afraid of Percy. Sure, that time when he went crazy attacking monsters in the Battle of New York, after having received the curse of Achilles, when Percy had been_ laughing_ as he fought was a little freaky, but_ this_? This was different.

Annabeth couldn't shake the feeling that Percy had been...changing recently. At first, it wasn't so dramatic or even noticeable to others, but Annabeth _knew_ Percy, sometimes better than he knew himself she thought. But lately... she had started to notice the little things, like the incident at their lunch of Rome, before her departure for her solo quest, where she watched his whole atmosphere change after she said the words "I know you." At the time, she had meant them light-heartedly, thinking it would lead to a joking conversation, but she instead watched as he appeared to withdraw, the light inside of him, which she had fallen in love with, had seemed to dim.

When Arachne suddenly attacked in Tartarus, Percy had been swift, skilled, and deadly. Arachne was dead (or as close to dead as a monster in Tartarus can get) before Annabeth had fully realized what was happening. That was fine, but when Percy started kicking the gold dust that was once Annabeth's worse nightmare, muttering about how Arachne deserved worse, how she didn't deserve a quick death, a chill went down Annabeth's spine. That type of talk, deserving quick or slow deaths, was what she had heard countless times from _monsters_.

Percy was not a monster. Not in any way was Annabeth insinuating that he was. It's just...he was just seeming to become.._.less human_.

It's hard to describe, really. Demigods, in fact, are only half human, and the things they've gone through are known to leave scars. Physical. Mental. Emotional. It didn't matter. The point was, being a demigod _sucked_. After a while, it begins wearing down the part thats human.

Annabeth had been with Percy since he'd discovered he was a demigod. She had witnessed a change in him. He was so self-conscious and awkward when he was twelve, no where near as sure of himself as he was now, though he still tended to doubt his capabilities. After all the quests and fights and near-death experiences, Percy, and herself, were bound to change. For gods sakes, how many friends did they lose? How many shrouds were burnt? They fought in a _war_ at_ sixteen_! What were other kids doing? Gossiping with their friends? Fretting about the upcoming school year? Thinking of how to dress to an upcoming party? One thing is for sure, they had _not_ been fearing and fighting a war between the gods and titans. That summer, demigods didn't gossip, they discussed battle strategies. They weren't worrying about the school year, they were worrying about the end of the world as they knew it. They weren't concerned about their clothes, only their battle armor.

Except maybe Aphrodite cabin, but they were on a whole different scale. (Annabeth still sometimes had to remind herself that Piper was a daughter of Aphrodite.)

But watching Percy, staring down Misery, anger, bitterness, and resentment in his eyes, Annabeth, for once in her life, was honest to gods scared of him for a moment. Perhaps that wasn't the right way to describe it. She wasn't afraid of_ him_, per say. Nor was she afraid of what he would do to_ her_. That idea was preposterous. Percy would never hurt_ her_, but she had never seen him wanting to bring pain to anyone, even a monster.

She was scared of who Percy was becoming, an embittered demigod, mad at the world for dealing him the fate he was given.

Killing to defend your life was one thing, what Percy was doing was something completely different. He was torturing the monster.

She watched as poison surrounded him, leaving him nowhere to go, and seemingly nothing to do. Annabeth tried desperately to distract Misery, calling out cheerful names that Annabeth practically had to spit out, but it was no good. Misery was ignoring her, focusing all her attention on Percy. She choked back a scream as she watched Percy fall to one knee, clearly distressed.

"You will feed the eternal darkness! You will die in the arms of Night!" Akhlys screamed. Annabeth did what she could, shouting at Misery, chucking whatever she could, mostly dragon jerky, at her, but it did nothing. The poison kept surrounding Percy.

Then something began happening.

It started when Percy's jaw set. Annabeth could visibly see the determination in his face. If he thought _she_ had an_ I-have-a-plan _face, clearly he had not seen his _I-have-a-really-dumb-idea-but-hey-it's-all-I-got-s o-let's-see-if-it-works_ face.

Poisonous fumes flowed away from him and the poison turned it's attention away from Percy and towards the goddess. Annabeth's mouth dropped open as she realized what was happening. Annabeth had seen Percy do some spectacular things, even create a hurricane, but he was now controlling _poison_!

"What is this?" Akhyls demanded.

"Poison," Percy answered, an edge in his voice Annabeth didn't quite recognize. "That's your specialty, right?" He stood, his fists clenched, determination in his jaw, anger in his eyes. The poison kept surrounding Misery, making her cough and cry even louder and harder.

But that wasn't even the scariest bit.

Annabeth noticed a gleam in Percy's eye. This was not uncommon, Percy always had sarcastic gleams in his eyes, but this gleam was not sarcastic. It was cold. It was dangerous.

Soon Akhyls began choking, unable to even speak. Annabeth's throat hitched, her hand went to her chest, her pulse quickened, her blood chilled. Annabeth hardly recognized the man in front of her, the one who was watching with a cruel glee as Misery died slowly in front of him.

And even worse, a part of Annabeth thought _This is your fault. He fell for you didn't he? This new him, this is on you. This is your fault. If you can't fix him, it's your fault._

Unable to take it anymore, she screamed, "Percy!" She cringed at the fear in her voice. It was only then she realized she had backed away, retreating to the edge of cliff. "Stop..." she begged.

For a moment, Percy didn't seem to react.

_Your fault._

He was enjoying this.

_If he breaks, it's your fault._

He wanted to see this creature, Misery, die slowly and painfully. Whether it was due to the metaphor of the fact he was killing _Misery_ while in Tartarus, Annabeth didn't know. She just knew that this was not what Percy when he was twelve would do. Not what Percy when he turned down immortality for her would have done.

But it is what the Percy who fell for her (literally, figuratively, it didn't really matter) would have done.

_Your fault._

It was bad enough to have to see Percy as a walking corpse, something that was sure to haunt her nightmares all her life, but to see him cold and heartless?

Annabeth had never been so terrified of someone she loved so much.

And it was her fault.

He fell for her.

He's breaking because of her.

"Percy, please..." she pleaded one more time.

Suddenly Percy blinked, as if just realizing what was happening. Guilt etched his face, but he mustered more anger to shout at Misery to leave. Akhlys ran for the hills, which was something Annabeth was slightly tempted to do, if she was utterly honest. If beyond those metaphoric hills lied the Percy she once knew, the one who never wanted to hurt anyone or anything unless necessary, she would run, killing anything in her way.

That was when Annabeth realized she had changed, too.

Still a little shocked and almost completely numb, Annabeth made her way over to Percy, grabbing his arms. Pleading into his eyes, she begged, "Percy, please don't ever...some things aren't meant to be controlled," she managed to say, trying, and failing, so desperately not to sob. "Please."

Annabeth watched as the anger faded from his features. He seemed to relax a little, but that edge was still there inside of him, waiting to cut whatever got too close.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay."

Annabeth didn't like the indecision in his response.

At the thought of this new development in Percy, Annabeth wanted to break down. Of course she couldn't. They didn't have time for that. They had the Death Mist (though Annabeth, after seeing Percy as a corpse, was eager to be done with it already) and were ready (as ready as they could be) to tackle the Doors of Death.

With a start, Annabeth realized how close they were to this all being done. And if they made it out...what then? Stop Gaea? Then what?

How could she ever begin to explain Tartarus to others? How could she explain the change Percy and she underwent? It was survival, wasn't it? Or perhaps the budding seed of bitterness, fed by their mistreatment at the hands of the gods and the unfairness of the Fates. Annabeth wasn't quite sure, maybe both? Either way, things would be different after this.

Looking at Percy, she was determined they would both make it out of this war. They could stumble their way back to normality (Annabeth wasn't sure what that was anymore) together.

But she couldn't seem to manage to fight back the voice in her head that whispered_ That cold in him? That's you. The change? Your fault. Neither of you die, or you both do. No other option. And which _really_ do you think is most likely?_

Annabeth prayed that it was just Tartarus whispering these thoughts to her.

Unfortunately, she doubted it.

**That's a wrap! Sorry for any roughness, i practically did all that on my Ipod.**

**QUESTION!**

**What do you guys think about me startig an AnotherFacelessAuthor twitter account? Or facebook. Dont care. I could keep you updated on my progress and ask for ideas directly. Would anyone follow me? OPINIONS WANTED!**

**Feel free to PM me HoH rants!**

**Read on!**


	2. Never

**BACK AGAIN SO SOON! I can make no promises how long this will happen, this fast streak, but I have A LOT of ideas and have discovered I can type on google docs app on Ipod during school so we'll see. :) But by November I will be done with swim and have a lot more free time. **

**So, honestly this one-shot veered in a lot of directions I didn't anticipate. It's a lot different then the other one. I have a lot more ideas so we'll see. **

**I STILL REALLY NEED OPINIONS! I'm thinking about AnotherFacelessAuthor Twitter account! I've gotten some 'go for it's' but I really don't want to do it unless I' actually have followers. **

**Anyhoo, here we go. **

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! MAKES MY LIFE BETTER!**

**Still Annabeth's PoV!**

**Read on!**

It was the first night after Tartarus that Annabeth didn't have a nightmare.

But that didn't mean she didn't dream.

She fell asleep, curled up close to Percy's side, her head on his shoulder, his on the top of her head. One of her arms were lazily thrown over his chest, one of his holding her close. Earlier, fed up with going to her own bed at first, lying awake for hours, and then sneaking into his room, she had defiantly pushed him into his room and followed behind, uncaring about the stares of the others. Percy's face had been priceless, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

"Uh...didn't they just see that?" He asked nervously as Annabeth closed the door, secluding themselves from the faces of their shocked friends, except Piper who simply smiled.

"Yup," Annabeth responded, pulling her hair down loose, letting it flow wildly on her shoulders. What she would give for a shower, but the lure of bed was too much. A shower would wait. Still standing, she leaned into Percy, who immediately wrapped his arms around her, as if acting on instinct to always hold her, always protect her, to keep her from harm. Annabeth was already half asleep when Percy picked her up, setting her into the bed before falling into it himself. Annabeth, as if acting on her own instinct, rolled over to settle as closely as possible to Percy.

Percy leaned down, kissing the top of her head gently. "I love you," he whispered.

Annabeth smiled dreamily. "Never," she replied, which may seem like an odd response, but it quickly became their abbreviated version of _We'll never be separated again. Never._

And, as had become Percy's protective instincts, Annabeth fell asleep first.

At first, Annabeth didn't know she was dreaming.

It was dark out and there was a warm breeze. Annabeth looked around the forested area which she stood. She wore style-less jeans and a clean, plain, fitted white T-shirt, which was weird because Annabeth didn't think she owned a white shirt that wasn't stained or ripped in some fashion. On her feet she wore her normal, beat-up converse's. Her hair was loose, which felt odd considering the only time Annabeth liked having her hair down was when she was asleep. In her hand was her new Drakon Bone blade.

Treading carefully and silently, Annabeth began walking forward. She wasn't sure where she was going, something was just drawing her north. The ground soon became littered with soda cans and wrappers. After a few minutes, Annabeth entered a clearing.

Her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but she saw two forms lying on the ground. Holding her blade out in front of her, Annabeth cautiously stepped towards the closest one, all her muscles preparing to spring into action.

It moved, the creature kicking it's feet out. Except, Annabeth noticed, they weren't feet. They were hooves. It was a satyr, but not any satyr.

"Grover...?" Annabeth muttered.

"Food..." was his only grumbling response.

Annabeth's head quickly jerked to the second form, who she now noticed was a young boy. One with raven hair. Annabeth's heart quickened as she rushed over. "Percy," she whispered frantically. Once she reached his front, her smile died, confusion flooding her face. "What the-"

"Why're you here?"

Annabeth's head whipped around, her blade raising to point outward. Her eyes went wild and wide, the fight or flight reflex embodying her every molecule. Personally, Annabeth was more of a _fighter. Flighting_ seemed too cliche and damsel-in-distress-y for Annabeth. Everything in Annabeth was ready to fight for her life...

Until she saw the source of her voice.

The girl smiled. "C'mon, you're not gonna kill yourself are you?"

It was Annabeth who spoke. A twelve year old Annabeth.

She was leaning against a tree, her knife resting casually in her hands. Her hair was up in her standard ponytail and she was in her typical T-shirt and shorts. Dumbstruck, Annabeth, the original seventeen year old Annabeth, lowered her blade. "What?" Was all she could think of to say.

Young Annabeth snorted. "Is that all the brilliant daughter of Athena could think of to say in a situation like this?"

Ignoring her, Annabeth re-surveyed the scene. The change in Grover was harder to notice, due to the fact that satyr's matured half as fast. Staring at young Percy, which was what had caused her alarm, Annabeth felt a small smile on her face.

With a jarring sense of reality, Annabeth straightened. "This is a dream."

"No, duh?" Young Annabeth quipped. "You are a daughter of Athena aren't you?" Annabeth glared at her younger self. Was she really this aggravating? Young Annabeth seemed unperturbed. "Weird blade. Where'd ya get it?"

Annabeth bit back a cold laugh. "Long story."

Young Annabeth narrowed her eyes, as if trying to read her older self. After a moment, she shrugged. "I'll find out soon enough, I suppose."

That almost made Annabeth want to break down. Here she was, an innocent (in relative terms) version of her self. She didn't yet know war, or death, or...or Tartarus. Gods, Annabeth could barely even think the name anymore. Everytime she did, she wanted to sob or scream, often both. But Annabeth much preferred anger to weakness. Careful planning over confused stumbling. Annabeth returned her attention to the problem at hand, unable to bear the sound of her guard breaking, of her protection wearing down. It was so fragile nowadays, while the younger Annabeth across from her still had hers completely intact.

"Why am I here?" She demanded.

"Didn't I ask you that?" She retorted. "How should I know? It's _your_ dream."

Annabeth snarled. "That's not helpful."

"Yeah, 'cause we're known for being the most helpful person on Earth."

"Stop speaking in plural! It's giving me a headache!" Annabeth shouted. Quickly she glanced over at Percy, worried she'd woken him, but he didn't react.

"How else are we to refer to ourselves? We're the same person, you and I."

Annabeth looked down, her eyes stinging. _No we're not_, she wanted to say. _We are so unbelievably different, you couldn't even fathom it. You're naive. You're innocent. You're unbroken._

Annabeth swallowed those words, defaulting to the words, "Why. Am. I. Here?"

"How many times are we going to put this song on repeat? I. Don't. Know." She answered, mimicking my frustrated tone. "Start with the basics, genius. Who sent you here? Was it the gods?"

Glancing around instinctively, as if she might find them there, Annabeth shook her head. "No. It doesn't...it doesn't feel like one of those dreams. This is...this is different."

"So you sent yourself here. Fine. Why here? What is so special about this moment?"

"I-I don't know," Annabeth admitted, frustrated. "This was the first quest," Annabeth began. "The one for that stupid lightning bolt."

"_First_ quest?" Young Annabeth asked excitedly.

"Don't sound so thrilled. They all were dangerous. I-we-could have died dozens, _hundreds_, of times."

Young Annabeth just smirked. "Don't lie. You loved it. The thrill. The danger. The pressure." Glancing over at Percy she added, "Always being the smartest in the room."

Annabeth snorted. "I'm always the smartest in the room."

Young Annabeth nodded. "True. So," she continued, back to the original conversation, "what was so important about this quest, this moment?"

"_I don't know_!" She shrieked. "This moment...here..." She sighed exasperated. "I. Don't. Know. It was...it was the beginning of the quest and my turn to watch just after the Aunty Em incident."

"Percy nearly got us all killed." Young Annabeth pointed out.

"Percy saved our lives."

Young Annabeth huffed and crossed his arms. "Then I'll just save his twice."

Annabeth chuckled dryly. "You save his life far more times than twice." Young Annabeth straightened and smirked in a very_ I told you so, I knew it_ sort of manner. "Don't get so cocky," Annabeth told her younger self monotonously. "I'm not sure we're ahead."

"You haven't been keeping track?"

"Trust me, you'll lose track after a while."

Annabeth found herself staring at the young Percy. He was definitely someone who grew into his looks, but you could see the buds of his modern day attractiveness (or, if Annabeth wanted to sound like an Aphrodite spawn,_ hotness_) even in the youth of his first quest. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, careless, as if nothing could go wrong. Every now and then he would twitch, as if he were dreaming.

"Is he having a nightmare?"

"Probably," Young Annabeth replied callously. "How could he not on this quest? You had nightmares, except you never told him about them."

Annabeth flinched. On this quest was the first time she ever dreamed about Percy's death. It had been horrible and bloody and had left her shaken. In fact...if Annabeth recalled right, she had had that nightmare on this night.

Eyebrows furrowed in thought, Annabeth looked back to Percy, understanding hitting her like a wrecking ball. "This is where I began to fall in love with Percy."

Young Annabeth barked a laugh. "Fall in love with _Percy_? That _Seaweed Brain_? How many times have I gotten my head hit in the future? Are you insane?"

Annabeth couldn't help but smile as she heard the slightly higher tone in her voice. Denial. Had it really been _that_ obvious.

"Maybe not in love," Annabeth admitted. "But this is where the feelings were born." Quickly, Annabeth glanced around, as if she could spot Aphrodite herself and throttle her. _Why the complications? She would demand. My life would've been plenty hard enough without all of this drama in my lovelife._

"Why would I be in love with him?" Young Annabeth demanded. "I mean, c'mon. He's idiotic, and reckless, and impulsive-"

"And brave, and loyal, and caring," Annabeth added. "And he's a _great_ fighter. The best one to have at your back."

Young Annabeth shrugged, but it seemed forced. "He's okay."

Annabeth offered a weak smile. She walked over and sat down next to her younger self. For a few minutes they sat there in silence. It was Annabeth, the older one, who broke the silence, very suddenly. She wasn't sure where the words came from, but it was like they were being pushed out of her throat.

"You know what, I'm gonna tell you something I wish someone had told me. That...that_ stupidly, idiotically, reckless_ boy who makes you want to_ tear your hair out_ and feed him to a freaking _hellhound_ is the best thing that could ever happen to you. He is_ so annoying_ sometimes and so very much a Son of Poseidon but that doesn't mean anything to me anymore other than our lives will always be _harder_. Harder than any mortal, harder than any half-blood, just..._harder_. And that _sucks_." Annabeth realized that her breaths were becoming ragged, her eyes starting to blur, her face becoming streaked with tears. "But I will do _anything_ to keep him alive. _Anything_, I swear. He's never left. Not...not on purpose. He was _always there_ for me, no one else was. No one. Luke left." Annabeth turned her stinging eyes to the stunned, young girl next to her. "Luke. Left. He_ left us_!"

"He...he _promised_." Young Annabeth stuttered.

"He did, but he didn't keep that promise." Annabeth returned her attention to young Percy as she fiddled with her sword, an item she'd gotten during their very worst times. "Never," Annabeth whispered. "Percy kept his promise."

"So why're you here?" Her younger self questioned once more. "To cry? To scream about the injustice of your _complicated love life_? Why are you here, Annabeth?"

"Because I can't lose him!" Annabeth shouted. "I am scared I'm going to lose him. I've loved him since I was twelve. I was so harsh, so disconnected before he came around. I was you. And since this moment here, when I was twelve and began to fall in love with possibly the most frustratingly annoying and idiotically loyal person ever, I began to break. Percy is what broke me, more than anything. I was guarded." I raised my sword to stare at it. "Now I'm guarded in a different sense. I just kill whatever gets near."

"That hardly seems healthy."

"It's _safe_. It's _survival_."

"What happened to the Annabeth who wanted to live, not just survive?"

Annabeth's hands begun to shake as she wiped tears from her eyes. "She fell to Tartarus. She died, as far as I'm concerned. The excitement you feel in this quest, it goes away. I admit, the thrill and danger was once addicting." Annabeth glanced down, ashamed. "Now...I would give anything to be mortal. To be normal. To be safe."

"Would you give up Percy?"

Annabeth blinked. "What?"

"Would you give him up for a normal life?" She repeated.

"What? No! No, I would never give up Percy. Never," she repeated. "Never."

"So there goes you having a normal, safe life. Maybe if you were just a child of Athena, you could be safe, but a song of Poseidon? No chance. He's an anchor dragging you down to the pits."

_"I dragged him to the Pit! He fell for me!_"

"So, Annabeth, why are you here?"

"Because I want to _live_, and I want to live _with him_. And _nothing_ will stop me. I want to be_ safe_ and_ happy_. And that dream seems so far away but he...he believes it and so do I. This moment? This is where everything became inevitable for me. And I wouldn't do anything differently. My future? The one that is horribly painful...it's also the best one I can imagine. No extreme highs without the lows right?"

"So you gotta fight for those highs, Annabeth, and suffer the lows. You gotta watch Percy's back. He can be a martyr. He'd rather die himself than watch you die. You gotta keep him together, keep the two of you together." Young Annabeth leaned forward. "Have faith, and, more importantly, have strength. Fight for your future, don't fight against the past. Love over hate, loyalty over pride."

Annabeth chuckled. "When did we becomes philosophers?"

"We always have been. We know everything, remember?" Young Annabeth put her arm on the shoulder of her elder."I'm not gone, Annabeth. I'm still in there. As innocent and cynical as ever. We're a weapon as much as that blade." She nodded at the Drakon Bone in her hand. "We can protect and hurt, you just gotta be careful how you use what's inside of you. Use it correctly and that future that Percy sees? You could see it, too." She smiled. "Now wake up. You can't hide in the past forever, no matter how much you may want to."

Annabeth glanced over at young Percy and smiled. "Why live in the past when you can live for the future?"

For once, Annabeth was awake first. She glanced up at Percy, who was sleeping peacefully and, thankfully, not drooling in her hair. He looked so peaceful, so much like his old self. Except, you know, older and well...hotter, Annabeth mentally admitted, blushing.

"Annabeth," he muttered under his breath, still asleep. Annabeth smiled, biting her lip. If possible, she pushed herself closer to him. The future had always seemed so scary and impossible. But in that moment, Annabeth saw it. And she wanted it.

Suddenly Percy took a deep breath, waking up. His eyes fluttered opened, revealing to Annabeth his beautiful eyes. When he saw her he smiled. "Hey, Annabeth," he said, his voice drunk with sleep. "No nightmares?"

Annabeth smiled. "No nightmares," she assured. "You?"

"Nope." He smiled, kissing her gently on her lips. "Guess it was 'cause you were here."

"Same." Annabeth pulled Percy down to her level, pressing her lips to his. "We'll make it through this, Percy. We'll make it to that future. Together."

"We're never going to be separated again," he said with a grin.

"Never," Annabeth agreed, gripping Percy close, swearing to herself she'd never let go.

Never.

That future was hers.

**Seriously, guys, review and let me know about Twitter account for AnotherFacelessAuthor idea! Would anyone follow me? **

**Also, just review! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Opinions!**


	3. Happiness and Safety

**Hey guys! I'm baaaack! So this became a combo of a whole bunch of ideas I had and I'm pretty happy with it. Whether it's because I'm female or whatnot, I find it easier to write in Annabeth's PoV, but this is in Percy's so let's see how I do!**

**This obviously takes place after CH1 and a little before CH2. **

**I take suggestions! After this week I'm done with swim so should have more writing time! Yay! **

**Shout out to Panda-Angel-Wings, a long time reviewer and is now becoming somewhat of a penpal via PM. She Pm'ed me a few days ago and it was so nice guys I just about started crying, you have no idea. Again, I'd like to express my gratitude to her and everyone else who reviews and gives life to my dream of being an author.**

**_ANNOUNCEMENT!_**** So I decided to do a twitter account, so you can all follow me AFAuthor **

**REVIEW! Let me know what your think! I take chapter suggestions!**

**:) **

**READ ON!**

Percy realized his mistake as soon as he fell asleep. For the third night in a row, he fell asleep and his mind was plagued with nightmares. Luckily, he didn't scream as much. Annabeth was more prone to screaming and convulsing, Percy just kind of froze, shaking and mumbling. For the third night in a row, Percy had to watch Annabeth die in tartarus in his mind. He couldn't do anything. In his mind, he would scream until his throat was raw. And he would get angry. So angry. And that scared him more than anything really, that he would lose himself as well if he ever lost Annabeth.

He was in the middle of a bad nightmare, clutching a mutilated Annabeth in his arms, screaming vengeance and rage, when he heard her voice.

"Percy...Seaweed Brain...C'mon wake up...it's a nightmare, Seaweed Brain...Wake up! Wake up! Gods, Seaweed Brain, snap out of it!"

Percy gasped, his eyes flying open. His eyes were blurry, and he quickly, self consciously, wiped his eyes using the palm of his hands. Still shaking, he gripped Annabeth tightly. Living, breathing Annabeth.

"We're okay," Annabeth muttered. Percy waited until he was still before pulling away, muttering an apology. "Don't apologize," she said sternly.

"Did you have a nightmare, too? Is that why you're here?"

Annabeth laughed, but there was little to no humor in it. "I've learned not to fall asleep. I just kind of wait around in my room for a couple hours and then come in here. Sleeping alone doesn't work out well. Especially, after the first night and the...uh...screaming..." Annabeth said, uncomfortably tucking her hair behind her ear. "I don't wanna scream and I don't, uh, scream when I, uh, sleep with you." She swallowed. Annabeth hated weakness, and with her growing age her hatred of showing weakness, other than to Percy, seemed to increase. "Was the nightmare the usual?"

Percy just nodded. "Yeah." As his mind revisited the horrid corpse of Annabeth, he felt his fists clench, and the anger start to build. He swallowed, avoiding Annabeth's eyes.

Ever so watchful, she noticed. She grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes. For a moment she stared into his eyes, reading him. It made him feel uncomfortable, which was unusual. He never really minded when Annabeth read him, but now he had a darker side in him that he would give anything for Annabeth not to see.

"Percy, do we need to talk about this?" Annabeth asked, sounding worried.

Percy tried for a lopsided smile. "Probably, but not now, okay? When this is all over, we can talk, okay? Right now everything is...raw," Percy decided. "And we gotta focus on this quest and not dying and stopping Gaia and-"

Annabeth stopped him by pressing her lips to his. "You worry too much," she said, a small smile creeping on her face.

"Yes, because what would we possibly have to worry about in a situation such as ours?"

"You just focusing on staying alive, and staying you, okay? Because every time you fight for your own life, you fight for mine, too, Percy. I hate being codependent but I..." Annabeth swallowed, self consciously. "I don't know how I'd survive without you. How I'd move on. It's...unimaginable." Her voice cracked and now it was her turn not to meet his eyes.

Percy leaned in and kissed her softly. He couldn't get himself to speak, because Annabeth held inside her so much more than just his life. He was so terrified of becoming bitter and resentful and hateful, but he could feel it building inside of him and Annabeth was the only one keeping the anger away. If she wasn't there to fight it off unknowingly, he was scared it would consume him, making him no better-no, worse-than Luke. When they pulled away, he simply just held her close.

All of a sudden, Annabeth started shaking. Percy was startled, thinking that she was crying, but when he pulled away, Annabeth was laughing. It sounded sort of manic, and maybe a little forced, like she was trying so hard to laugh just to keep her from crying. Percy couldn't help but smile at her attempt to be so strong. Why couldn't he be strong like her?

"What?" he asked.

Annabeth tried to stifle her laughs, but it was hard, and speaking became challenging. "How...how are we...how did this...other teenagers are..." her laughs began dying down and her eyes began glittering with tears, desperation leaking out of her voice, "...they're getting ready for parties...sleepovers...and we're...Gaia...fighting the giants...defending our lives...T-tartarus..." It was the first time either of them, any of the seven, had said the word since Percy and Annabeth returned, and when she said that word, the hellish word that would always be a twisted, scarring reminder of what they suffered, Annabeth lost it, breaking down. She leaned into Percy, sobbing uncontrollably.

Annabeth was the strongest person Percy knew, far stronger than him. For the past three days, Percy had tried so hard to act natural, but that's impossible, or it felt so to him. Annabeth, on the other hand, would laugh with Piper, and criticize Leo, and be a friend to Frank. It all looked so normal and so...Annabeth, but now Percy could see how much it was costing her.

After a few minutes, Annabeth forced herself to stop. Percy knew she still had some agony left inside of her, but she was pushing it away, to deal with later. He knew how much that hurt, but he also knew that they couldn't afford to break down now. Annabeth sloppily wiped her eyes, laughing at the tear marks on Percy's shirt. "Gods, I look like such a mess."

Percy pretended to study her. "Hm...nope. I don't see it."

Annabeth laughed and rolled her eyes, playfully shoving him away. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

Percy laughed and it felt genuine, it felt relieving. "And please, you hate normal girls." He said, doing what he could to make Annabeth smile by making light of her breakdown. "They're cliche and annoying and have fried brains from TV and sleep around with whatever and if you haven't caught on, Wise Girl, I'm quoting you."

Annabeth snorted. "Well, I'm a demigod, of course they all seem lame. They're lives are lame but they're...safe, you know?"

"I guess," Percy responded.

"C'mon, you've never wondered how you would've turned out if you were mortal?"

Percy paused. "Not...not recently." He frowned. "Right before the sixteenth birthday, I guess, maybe, but lately...afterwards things were fine and then after that things were just too chaotic..."

Annabeth chuckled. "So you'll spend your time thinking of a future of us together, but not of a life where you'll safe."

"Safeness...happiness...personally I'd take the latter over the former." He began twirling her hair around one of his fingers.

Annabeth grinned. "That is so stupid and so sweet and so you of you to say."

Percy settled himself into a sitting position, leaning forward towards Annabeth, staring her in the eyes. "You probably wouldn't have been dyslexic or ADHD, especially since I sometimes have to remind myself that you have dyslexia and ADHD. You would be quiet in class, I guess, like I imagine you are now. And you're know-it-all tendencies are staying with you know matter what." She slapped him, but was laughing. Percy continued on, encouraged by her glee. "You're home life would be better. You'd get along with your step mom and step brothers better. You'd have a lot more friends because you weren't constantly thinking about how they didn't get you, didn't understand you. You probably would get early acceptance to some really fancy college. Have a boyfriend or two..." Percy's voice became somber and Annabeth frowned, placing a hand gingerly on his face. Percy didn't stop speaking. "You'd find happiness," he continues, drawing circles in Annabeth's palm. "Saftey. Live a long, happy life. Away from the danger being a demigod dating a son of Poseidon brings."

"Stop," Annabeth demanded. "Just stop,okay?" She moved herself closer, wrapping her arms his neck, until she had a leg on either side of him. Annabeth's face flushed, but she didn't move. "Like you said. Happiness is better than safety." She kissed him. "And I thought you said you never thought about our lives as a mortal."

"Actually, what I believe I said is that I didn't spend much time thinking about myself as a mortal."

"But you created a whole backstory for my imaginary mortal life?"

Percy didn't respond for several minutes. "I want you to be safe, okay? And a daughter of Athena attracts some monsters, yeah, enough to make life harder but not...A son of Poseidon on the other hand..."

"Stop it," Annabeth repeated. "Why are we so caught up in this? We can be demigods and happy, Percy. We've done it before. Before this whole...Prophecy of the Seven began. Before you were taken away. We've done it before and gods dammit we'll do it again and again and again, however many times it takes for the fates, and the gods, and the titans, and the giants, and any other should-be-mythological whatsits get the idea that we will be happy even if it kills us and then we will go to elysium and be happy again. Nothing, nothing, will stop us. Dammit," Annabeth repeated. She really wasn't one to swear, but Annabeth was frustrated and determined, that was evident. "Dammit," she said once more. "Screw the fates, and screw the prophecies, and screw heroic tragedies, we are going to make it, Percy. We will be the exception. We will make our own destinies. No more of this predestination crap."

Percy was grinning from ear to ear. "Where is this coming from?"

"Hell," she said frankly. "This came from hell. We survived hell. If we can do that, we can be happy. We just have to survive. We just have to make it."

Percy closed the distance between him and Annabeth rather forcefully. He kissed her with a passion that was foreign. When he pulled away, his smile grew wider. "Together. We'll never be separated again."

"Never." This time it was she who kissed him. When she pulled away she stared at him, not like she was reading him this time. More just wanting to stare at him. "I love you, Percy." She .

He gave her his trademark lopsided smile. "And to think, four years ago you couldn't stand me."

Annabeth yawned, exhaustion taking control of her body as she lied down, pulling Percy down next to her. Annabeth's eyes already began sinking. She yawned again as she spoke. "And now I can't stand to be without you." She moved in close. Her voice drunk with exhaustion, she continued sounding, half-delirious. "I think I liked it before. It hurt less." After those words, she was fast asleep.

Percy frowned at those words, thinking them over before he decided he agreed.

When he and Annabeth were just a bunch of bickering twelve year olds, things were simpler. They were simpler. Everything was black and white and sometimes it was a welcome reprieve to be separated. Now everytime she was gone, it hurt and he got scared. Scared he would begin to slip away. Scared she wouldn't be safe without him. There was a pounding in his chest, so hard, which was weird because it felt like his heart was ripped away when Annabeth was gone.

She was right. It hurt more now, being in love with her.

But he wouldn't give it up for anything. Not even safety.


	4. Without Words (How to save a life)

**Hey guys! SO ths chap looks a little shorter than I thought but oh, well. I'm really happy with it. Hopefully I made it emotional enough without making it grotesquely sappy. :) Let me know how I did?**

**I had a reviewer ask for a chap of them AFTER the war...not sure if this is what you meant...if it isn't let me know! I TAKE REQUESTS FOR CHAPTER IDEAS! IF I LIKE IT I'LL DO IT!**

**And swim just finished for me! JV conference was yesterday and I KILLED it in the 500! (500=Going down and back 10 times) I got a new best time by 3 seconds getting myself a 6:17! :D Really happy!**

**So let me know what you think of this chap! And FYI I'm currently building the basis of a new, actual story for FF. Similar yet very different to my ****_Blocking Out Painful Things_**** story which earned me many reviewers and readers. Same concept of "Daughter of Percabeth" but with very different characteristics and VERY different plot line that I'm hoping won't be too weird. I'm currently consulting with Panda-Angel-Wings about it but IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO HELP ME THEN PLEASE PM ME! I'd love as much input as possible. **

**Anyhoo, review about what you think of this CH! :D **

**And follow me on twitter AFAuthor (I'd love to get a following there and be able to communicate about things with readers!)**

**READ ON!**

The Giant War had finished less than a month ago. Percy had spent the first few days at camp, and then spent about a week with his mom, and Annabeth included. About a week ago they came back to Camp Half-Blood. Their sleeping arrangements were difficult at Camp. At Percy's moms house, Sally had turned a blind eye to the fact that they needed to sleep together, as long as a door remained open. At Camp, things were complex.

The rules were strict, and for understandable reasons. Two Campers, who were of differentiating parentage and opposite sexes, were not permitted to be alone in a cabin, let alone sleep together.

Luckily, after the War the schizophrenia of the gods faded and Annabeth's Yankees cap returned to it's normal magical state. Annabeth had to keep from crying from relief when she discovered this. It was a sign her mother forgave her, and was maybe even apologizing.

Using her recently magically revived cap, Annabeth would sneak out of her cabin sometime after midnight and go into the Poseidon Cabin, where a certain son of the sea god would be waiting. Only then would either of the two get some peaceful sleep.

One of these nights had been particularly hard on Percy, though he had Annabeth pressed against him, he still suffered a nightmare. Though, this time it wasn't Annabeth's death he saw.

He instead saw himself, in Tartarus, and saw all the things he did, and all the things he felt and, more importantly, all the things he didn't. Worst was his encounter with Misery and the fear which turned to anger inside of him, bringing forth a cruelty he didn't know he possessed. He so badly wanted to watch that hideous being die slowly, choking on her own pain. Didn't she know Percy had enough misery on his own? He didn't need hers! Neither he nor Annabeth needed any more Misery, they had a surplus of their own. He just wanted to watch Misery die, and was relishing in the fact that he was the one who would cause it.

Thinking back on that moment now, and Annabeth's face-gods, she had been afraid of_ him_!-now made Percy want to vomit. He had been startled awake from this nightmare after watching him...after watching himself become Annabeth's killer, hurting her in the same way he hurt Misery. And while he felt guilt now that he was awake, he had felt none while he was dreaming.

Shaking and frightened, Percy gingerly untangled himself from Annabeth and walked over to his small bathroom. Every cabin had one. It was a half bath, with no shower. Simply a toilet and a sink with a few cupboards and one closet. The showers and extra stalls were in the bathhouse. Percy turned the faucet on in the sink and splashed some water on his face, hoping any connection to his element might help, but it did nothing to cleanse his mind of guilt.

Guilt was such a heavy emotion, it weighed down your soul, your body and mind. It would crush you, leaving devastation in it's wake. It was a destroying emotion, but it could also be healthy. Guilt meant conscience. It meant humanity.

Anger was such a light emotion. It carried you away and let you act without remorse. It was simple and easy to take and could motivate you in the toughest of situations, but it is a hateful emotion. Unlike guilt, which can feel killing but can lead to health, anger simply feels good but can kill you just as simply. Anger is harder because it's so much easier. Why be weighed down by an anchor of guilt? Why let it drown you?

But when you sever the cord to your guilt, you also sever the cord to everything that keeps you floating. Once you do that you're all alone. No anchor below you, but no life-preserver around you either, and you better damn hope you can swim. It's a fate of your own making, but it often ends ugly.

And Percy stood on the precipice of making his decision, much like Luke was when Percy was twelve. Luke, unfortunately, made the wrong decision. Percy was trying so hard to make the right choice, but it was getting really hard. His guilt was pulling him down so much, he would be drowning in his guilt, he was sure, if not for Annabeth. Percy couldn't lose Annabeth, so he was trying so hard to survive with the anchor.

But his guiltless moments in Tartarus, those few, callous moments where Percy _didn't_ make the right choice, they were haunting him now. He had made Annabeth _afraid_. Annabeth had been afraid of _him_.

Percy gripped the edge of the sink, his knuckles turning white from holding on too hard. His head was bowed down. His eyes were clamped shut. He told himself that he didn't feel tears running down his cheek. He was lying. He knew it.

Suddenly it all became much too hard. Percy wanted to scream, so badly. He wanted to cry out the injustices he had endured. He wanted to go up to Olympus and punch Zeus in the face. He wanted to denounce all the gods. He wanted to run and never look back. He wanted to be bitter.

With all this pressure building inside of him, he hardly noticed when the sink exploded. It only seemed right that something explode when he couldn't.

Annabeth yelped as she was suddenly awoken by the noise. Percy just stood and watched water spray around as Annabeth ran over. Looking at the wreckage in shock she turned to him. "What happened?" She demanded.

"The sink, uh, exploded," Percy muttered.

"Yeah, I got that." She snapped. "Think you could make the water stop, oh wise son of Poseidon?" She crossed her arms and stared at him, now soaking wet, it was only when he made the water stop that he realized he was wet, too. He hadn't willed himself dry.

Annabeth sighed. Her face softened once she studied him closer. He wasn't meeting her eyes, which was something that was becoming more common recently. His hands were in fists and he was biting his lip so hard she was afraid he would draw blood. Everything about him seemed tense and angry. Something that was also becoming more common recently.

"Percy, what is it?" She asked, quietly, but sternly.

"It's nothing, Annabeth," he tried to assure. "I'm sorry I woke you. I can get you some dry clothes-," he tried to walk past her but Annabeth moved into his way.

"No. Not until you talk to me."

"So we're going to stand here soaking wet while we have a nice talk about our feelings?" Percy asked, his usual sass replaced by a new biting edge.

"Yes," Annabeth replied. "Percy you're worrying me and you're not talking to me about it. We said we would talk about this when everything was said and done and now it is. So talk."

Percy sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall. Annabeth followed his lead, leaning against the doorframe. "I don't know what to say," he admitted.

"Let's start with the nightmares. They've been getting worse, which is weird because they should be getting better now that we're not fighting for our lives." Percy looked down and Annabeth realized that, in some mental or emotional way, Percy was still fighting for his life, except it was on a new battleground, previously unexplored and completely foreign to him. He was fighting in his mind. He was fighting over who he would become. He was standing on a cliff and Annabeth was worried he might fall. "Percy, please...just talk to me." She pleaded.

Percy put his arms on his knees and began to speak. He spoke rapidly and quietly, though his voice grew in volume. It was like he was afraid he'd lose the courage or was afraid Annabeth would leave before he could finally finish saying what was on his mind. Throughout his entire speech or story, whatever it is you wish to call it, Annabeth spoke not once. She listened thoughtfully and painfully, wondering how she hadn't noticed his pain earlier.

He told her how the nightmares were first about her, about her dying. Then they began focusing on his anger at her death. How he would lose himself if it ever happened. Then they became about Tartarus, and how maybe he had already lost himself.

Towards the end Percy began looking the opposite direction, his voice more ragged. Annabeth turned his head to face her and saw he was crying.

The Percy Jackson she knew didn't cry. He just didn't. He was able to go through so much crap and stay strong and hold her as _she_ cried. But somewhere in her, she was thankful she could finally return the favor. Percy fell into her as he lost it, and Annabeth held him close. Without words she assured him he was not lost, he was here, in Annabeth's arms and in her heart and he could always find himself there. Without words, she assured him that, though he may be a little broken, so was she, and the could heal each other together. It was a painful, but worthwhile process that would lead to their eventual happiness. Without words, she assured him that she would always love him. She would always be there. She was here because of him, she was alive because of him, she was happy because of him. She knew what it felt like to be bitter, hadn't she felt the same at Luke's betrayal? She knew how anger seemed so tempting, but she also knew the strength that choosing the hard way gave you. While it may seem daunting, and you may seem to weak, once you choose to go the hard way, Fate, or perhaps the fates, will give you the strength you need.

So for roughly an hour they sat there, slowly drying their clothes as their faces remained wet. And it was in that moment, Percy chose the hard way. Once he decided to, it was easy. He had already been given the strength, and her name was Annabeth.

Once he was done crying he felt himself blush, embarrassed at his breakdown. Annabeth smiled, wiping away the tears from his cheeks and the hair from his eyes. "Well, there, we've had our emotional breakdown, I think we can officially be done with that Quest, huh?" Annabeth asked, even though she knew that the Quest of the Seven would be one she would carry with her for the rest of her life, but Percy was here to shoulder it with her, so she knew she would be fine.

Percy chuckled, and that sarcastic gleam in his eye returned and Annabeth almost began sobbing all over again when she saw it. To her, it was as much a symbol as her Yankees cap being returned to it's previous magical state. Percy was becoming more like his old self, while still maintaining some of his new self. It would be hard to figure out what parts of him to keep and what he can discard, his guilt, Annabeth knew, would be particularly hard for him to get rid of, but she was confident it could be done. She just knew, and so did he.

He leaned in and kissed her, both of them looking rather disheveled from having been soaked and now partially-air dried. It was a kiss, not without passion and not without care, either. It was a kiss with meaning.

And with that kiss, and without words, he told her what he needed to.

_Thank you for saving my life. _


End file.
